Hello everyone Dan, here. How often do you hear yourself saying “no I haven’t looked at that yet, but I’ve been meaning to?”

Thus began an email written to my by none other than Dan Frishberg. Yes, Dan Frishberg of disgraced BizRadio fame, the same Dan Frishberg that is banned from the SEC in offering investment advice…not that it seems the SEC has any teeth when it comes to Dan and his continued radio commentary.

I just read yet another email from a frustrated trader telling me that the trading techniques, the pattern recognition software, or the black box strategies that he believed in are simply not working.

Wow…again I’m confused. You received “yet another email from a frustrated trader” – but Dan you’re not supposed to be offering investment advice so why would you be receiving any emails from traders? What am I missing here?

Brokers are telling their customers to ignore their losses and hang on, but that’s what they always say. Sometimes that advice works, but it has also resulted in some of the biggest losses in the past twenty years.

Oh my…”some of the biggest losses in the past twenty years” – wonder if that isn’t exactly what happened to people – good folks who couldn’t afford to lose – when they listened to your line about BizRadio and why they should invest in you. Dan tell me – if they lost in you, why should they now listen to you – especially when you’re not supposed to be offering investment advice? Damn this perplexes me!

One listener said he has finally realized technical analysis doesn’t work. This isn’t true, the current price is unquestionably a key part of the story but this is only part of it.

Only part of the story…seems that’s a mantra for you. Has anyone who invested with you in BizRadio ever gotten the truth – the full story or even as much as an apology?

The paradox of investing is – it’s easy to make money when you stop searching for the easy answer.

Yet you and Al Kaleta offered “easy answers” to investors who by all accounts were defrauded. Have you made restitution? Have you made it easy for them to recover their monies?

Instead, get an update on what’s working now — the most up to the minute insight into the trends, turning points, and my best stock and option trade ideas in my all new newsletter, Whats Working Now.

You do have a big set of (whatever)…get “my best stock and option trade ideas” – good lord is that not in direct violation of the SEC requirement that you not offer investment advice? Justice? Doesn’t seem to be any here!

What is the impact when a fraud is perpetrated and the possibility of recovery is dismal? How do people deal with the emotional impact of distrust created when scammed? Those questions are central in the recent sentencing of Thomas Mitchell who ran a 15 year Ponzi scheme targeting 150 retired train and bus drivers in L.A. Sentenced to 9 years in prison, Mitchell will be facing his consequences, but what about his victims?

Excerpts from a CNN article state the following:

Even after the man who stole 67-year-old Frances Wills’ entire life savings was sentenced to nine years in prison, she still didn’t feel as if justice had been served.

Mitchell will begin his sentence on Sept. 23. But it may take longer for Wills — who still can’t sleep at night or stop crying — to move on.

“I’m still hurting inside,” she said. “Nine years is not enough for what he’s done to all these people. We want him to suffer like we suffered.”

“It looks like there’s just no money to be had, so there’s nothing we can do,” said Anand. “It’s sad because many of these people are in terrible, terrible circumstances.”

“I used to get up at 2:30 a.m. to get to work driving my bus,” said Wills, who lost the $156,000 she had saved from her job as a Long Beach Transit bus driver for 23 years. “And then for him to just take it out of greed — I want to know: What did he do with our money?”

The judge at Mitchell’s sentencing invited victims to tell their stories in court. One woman took 30 pages of notes with her and didn’t leave until she was completely done. Others were such emotional wrecks they couldn’t stand to address the court.

“The whole courtroom was full of tears,” said Wills. “All Mitchell did was sit there and look stupid. There were a lot of people in there who wanted to slap him upside the head.”

According to court documents, Mitchell promised his clients returns of up to 12.5% on their investments to lure them in, but would then only invest “a miniscule fraction” of their money. He would make monthly payments to keep his clients from worrying — and which many used for living expenses.

Notice one of the biggest evidences that a fraud is happening is an UNREASONABLE PROMISE. In the lectures I give on fraud prevention, I generally share that victims fall into the PIT. That means the first part of the PIT is an Unreasonable PROMISE. Mitchell promised his clients (victims rather) returns of up to 12.5%. That’s a NEON sign flashing SUCKER I’m ABOUT TO ROB YOU!

But Mitchell meanwhile used the rest of the money his clients had invested for himself. By the end, he didn’t even have enough money to pay his victims the monthly stipends.

Wills relied on those monthly checks from Mitchell. When they stopped coming, she had to sell her home and move into a mobile home. She can’t afford to pay her bills or fix her broken-down car. And she had to apply for food stamps a few weeks ago and now asks her children to help her out.

Some of the other victims duped by the Ponzi scheme include Bobby Bradley, a 70-year-old retired bus driver who lost his life savings of $215,000 and is now looking for work again.

An MTA service attendant, Charles Black, said he watched 23 years of his life go down the drain when he found out his entire retirement stash — $250,000 — was gone.

Mitchell’s own cousin, Robbie Gilbert — who lost $150,000 in retirement savings to Mitchell — wasn’t able to make it to the sentencing. But she said the fact that he will be behind bars for the next nine years is enough to ease her anger for the time being.

There are three components of most frauds from the perspective of the VICTIMS: (1) Promise; (2) Illusion and (3) Trust.

Let’s look at what was reported and see if we can find those components. ILLUSION – according to reports Mitchell used funds from other victims to pay earlier victims creating the Illusion that there were actually returns from investments taking place.

Ah, but the hook that gets VICTIMS in – in the first place – is the PROMISE. Here the promise was a return (plus principle) of up to 12.5%. I can’t speak to why…but in every case it seems clear that “investors” seem to gravitate to something that “others can’t have” – some call it greed. I think, rather than greed, we have a psychological desire to be above average and if someone offers something that seems real that is “off limits” to the average guy…then we are more apt to bite. Guess it’s DNA to want what we can’t or shouldn’t have…just think of the apple. (Some readers will get that!)

Now, let’s be honest. A PROMISE of a 12.5% return is not reasonable and ANY PROMISE of a guaranteed return should give us a moment to pause and investigate further!

The funny part about a Ponzi Scheme is that the ILLUSION that supports the PROMISE actually creates the TRUST needed to perpetuate the scheme. More times than not, the “investors” VICTIMS actually are the ones that turn others on to the “scam” without having any knowledge that they are luring others into the trap!

The Ponzi scheme only collapses when the source of funding dries up. Most of the time, the scheme gets so large and top heavy (the need for additional funding becomes so great) that it collapses on itself.

So…the FBI suggests the following which is worth repeating:

So how can you avoid being victimized by a Ponzi scheme? A few tips:

Be careful of any investment opportunity that makes exaggerated earnings claims.

Exercise due diligence in selecting investments and the people with whom you invest—in other words, do your homework!

Consult an unbiased third party, like an unconnected broker or licensed financial advisor, before investing.

If you were victimized by Thomas Mitchell and have wisdom to share with others about how to avoid being scammed, please share!

Talking about going from “FAN” to folly…Nevin Shapiro is squealing like a stuck pig in his allegations regarding his actions and wrong doing in the University of Miami football program.

Feeling abandoned by the U of M program in his conviction for his massive Ponzi Scheme…Shapiro is now speaking out loudly from his Atlanta prison cell suggesting the U of M program might face the “death penalty” as his hand. The question is – is any of this real?

In an interview:

Shapiro said for the first time that not only was it players who sought favor with him, but also Hurricanes football staff was involved. According to Shapiro’s attorney, Maria Elena Perez, the information first came out under questioning by federal officials and bankruptcy trustee attorneys.

Shapiro is at the heart of an NCAA investigation and his involvement with the school dates back to 2001-2002. Shapiro’s attorney has claimed that he provided UM players with the use of a yacht and various other favors.

Shapiro also claimed he paid for nightclub outings, sex parties, restaurant meals and in one case, an abortion for a woman impregnated by a player. One former Miami player, running back Tyrone Moss, told Yahoo! Sports he accepted $1,000 from Shapiro at about the time he was entering college.

QUESTION: What do you think about Nevin’s allegations? Is he trying to gain favor by cooperating in a federal investigation (and thereby reduce his sentence)? Do you think there is validity to his allegations?

COMMENT: One interesting aspect to Shapiro’s claims is that they would be consistent with the behavior of a Ponzi fraudster. Most fraudsters tend to flaunt their ill gotten wealth as the reality is what they have is valueless to them since it cost nothing to begin with. Most importantly, the fraudster is flaunting money in order to meet a need or feed ego. So…not having the facts (which will come out) I have a sense that Shapiro’s claims may, at least in part, be true.

A “Man of The Age” financier is surrounded by mystery and adoring members of the moneyed elite hungry for some of his wondrous returns. This paragon of the business class with The Midas Touch accepts only a few choice clients who seem to wither in his presence as they deliver their accumulated wealth into his magical hands – no questions asked. The returns are beyond belief, and for very good reasons. Unbeknownst to all, this wizard of the market is juggling fraudulent accounts to pay for his lavish lifestyle. The only trading is from their hands to his. The ruse comes tumbling down and the entire nation is stunned.

The scoundrel portrayed above is Charles Dickens’ character, Mr. Merdle of Little Dorrit, first published in 1857. Dickens foretold the Madoff scandal verbatim in his quintessential corruption tale, but this iniquitous business leader is an age-old archetype, and we, like Dickens, find it easy to vilify him due to the magnitude of his crimes; No stealing a crust of bread for this villain. At its polar opposite, take the “common criminal,” the savage monster seen today in T.V. cop shows, the local news, and innumerable B-movies. This standard is bloodthirsty, drug- crazed, and has a soul as black as night.

Dickens’ work is also replete with such characters. The beauty of these caricatures is that we cannot find ourselves in either. They conveniently represent “other.” All the while we can sit comfortably in our living rooms with our sense of moral rage because we do not bilk venerable charitable funds and we do not cook meth in our kitchen. Yet, it can be argued that if we truly strive for a better world, then we need to go well beyond the knee-jerk reactions of these scenarios, and find ourselves in the moral conundrums.

Stricter regulations of the financial sector and more accountability, gun control legislation, sensible criminal sentencing laws, affordable drug rehab, etc., are important factors, but are only part of the solution. Even focusing on improvements to education and social services, which have been shown to be extremely important in crime prevention within certain groups, is still only a small part. To thoroughly understand what drives people as different as Kenneth Lay or a Gov. “Blago,” as well as a gun-totting inner-city kid with a pocket full of dope, we must understand root causes of criminal behavior, thus pointing the way for our next generation of leaders- and evaluate ourselves in our own business affairs.

“What causes criminal activity, and. who are these people who commit crimes against our society, such as … ” taking items from work, “fudging” on taxes, paying for non-business activity with a business account, inflating an insurance claim, switching labels at a store, producing unsafe products, “padding” a bill, or any number of violations of legislated standards for personal gain committed by everyday people.

Due to perception, universally known within psychology as the fundamental attribution error, these crimes are given little thought by those who commit them. Joe Citizen justifies and minimizes these activities as “bending” the rules. And this is where we see the attribution error in effect: we tend to overestimate the role of personal factors and underestimate the “influence of situations in others, and we overestimate the situational factor and underestimate the personal factor in our own circumstances. It is the age-old “We judge others on their actions, and we judge ourselves on our intent.” Or I’m bending the rules, and he is breaking the law.

This phenomenon is not unique to the middle and upper socioeconomic strata, and equally applies to the poor. A drug dealer feels that his activities, though illegal, are still a legitimate means to earn a livable wage within his community. The same could be said of any accountant or lawyer who “tweak’s” the system to make a little money. So, getting a television set off the back of a truck in the ghetto looks much like another’s decision to not claim income on a second job. It is all about perspective.

As we address the problem of the business class, we can facilitate the much-needed change in perspective with some cold, hard facts. Business leaders do not need to be as extraordinarily crooked as Madoff to affect a, huge societal burden. Study after-study demonstrates that “white collar” or corporate crimes, as well as middle-class crimes, ranging from tax evasion, insurance fraud, price fixing, inventory “shrinkage” (what a euphemism!), etc., weigh much more heavily than the number one Index crime, conventional property crime. Index crimes are known also as “street crimes.” They are highly visible crimes, easy to categorize and count, and are overwhelmingly committed by the poor. White collar crimes, by contrast, are difficult to detect and rarely prosecuted. Still, the economic yearly cost with respect to property crimes of the corporate America are approximately twenty times greater than conventional property crimes of index offenses, or a difference of $200 billion to $10 billion annually.

Having completed a fully accredited MBA program via a distance-based education format, I need to share that – this accomplishment – was done from an 8′ by II’ prison cell. I was an inmate and like most “on the inside,” I readily justified my criminal acts, which occurred within my professional life, as did the drug dealer or the burglar. So, as I approached my Business Ethics coursework, I did it with the secure knowledge that I committed a crime. This perspective, and the belief that my professors would judge my answers too with this in mind, gave me a keen eye in studying ethical queries in business.

I believe that when most students answer questions related to ethical foundations or detail their understanding of their own personal values, they do it from a perspective that they themselves could not possibly commit a crime. Such activities, such as smoking pot in the college dorm or not claiming wages from a summer job paid “under the table,” are simply not considered as crimes, which they are. Again the attribution error: “My (illegal) acts are not illegal, and certainly not unethical.

Everybody does it. It is no big deal.” And so forth. To cultivate a true ethical North in business, we must broaden our perspectives, and when an ethical dilemma arises, we can perceive it as such. No different from operations management or strategic planning. An appreciation of multiple perspectives — proffers a grand wealth of insight that will carry our next generation of leaders.

As a convict, my daily life is a direct result of criminal acts related to my work. In my studies, I can clearly see the untold millions that are affected by one unsafe product, but I can also appreciate how one man can justify criminal acts as a bad business decision, rather than a pathological act for profit with no respect for the law. To open the eyes of CEOs early in their training to the easy comparisons between corporate crime and “street” crimes, as well as offer tangible proof of the enormous societal burden of white-collar crime, would be of immeasurable value. In teaching business ethics, we must go well beyond the bland terms and definitions and the prosaic personal litanies of “What I value in the world.” We must make the coursework truly applicable and create managers and business leaders who intuitively understand how ethics within Corporate America are just as important, if not more so, as profit margins and supply chains.

Clearly, when I understand myself, I can understand Bernie Madoff or Kenneth Lay. I believe the same could be said of us all. The equation is simple: Unbridled Financial Gain plus Opportunity, then Add the Likelihood of Detection and Fear of Prosecution. Embracing the truth of unlawful acts in our everyday lives, be it business or personal, is much harder to do than to merely vilify in a fanciful Dickensian way the corporate or government leader who betrays our trust, or even the dope dealer of the inner cities. But it will help to create leaders who view all of their work and life through a lens of principled behavior. We must begin to see the situational nature of all criminals acts, and therein lies the beginning of meaningful solutions. It is not enough to alter the number of opportunities to steal or the severity of the requisite penalties, but to go further by changing what stealing looks like by different people, changing the perceptions of illegal gains, and infusing the intrinsic value of ethical behavior.

When we see that all of us have a little of Bernie Madoff in us, only then can we begin to view our world more clearly and begin to make authentically ethical decisions as we lead our companies and organizations. We may even make significant changes in our personal lives.

Business Ethics: It is really is about more than avoiding prison.

Corey Richardson Biography:

Corey John Richardson is a former clinician, who holds a Master’s Degree in PA Studies from the University of Nebraska’s College of Medicine (Omaha) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science/PA Certificate from the University of Florida’s College of Health Related Professions (Gainesville). He holds an MBA from Salve Regina University’s Graduate Business School (Newport, RI) and has completed doctoral health science coursework with a focus on prison healthcare at Spalding University (Louisville, KY). Mr. Richardson’s work has been incorporated into criminology courses at the University of Cincinnati and has been included in CURE’s congressional file on correctional healthcare in support of HR 3710. He has performed medico-legal consulting and has legal experience assisting prisoners in various civil and criminal actions. As a pro se litigant, he won a precedent-setting case on appeal against the Kentucky DOC and its Abuse of Power (published at Richardson v. Rees, 283 S.W. 3d, 257). He has also worked as a facilitator in numerous psychotherapeutic and rehabilitative programs.

Mr. Richardson has written widely about prison issues and sobriety for publications such as Spotlight on Recovery, Cell Door Magazine (the official publication of the National Death Row Assistance Network), T’he Kentuckiana News, Perspectives (the official journal of the Association for Humanistic Psychology), The Grapevine (Alcoholics Anonymous’ international publication), The Long Term View: A journal of informed opinion (Massachusetts School of Law at Andover), OUTlooks (Canada’s GLBT magazine), and others. Several of his essays have been published in the book Voices Through The Wall and he won 1st Prize in the Ford Foundation’s 2OO9 national writing competition Think Outside the Cell, published in Love lives here, too. (2010)

Mr. Richardson maintains his writing at coreyrichardson.blogspot.com and may be reached at coreyjohnrichardson@gmail.com. In 2001, he was convicted of crimes related to practicing medicine without a license and served 122 months in the Kentucky Department of Corrections; his supervising physician was given a probated sentence. Mr. Richardson has 13 years of continuous sobriety on July 14, 2011.

A classic stupid Ponzi scheme! It has been said that a sucker is born every day, but I still find myself amazed that otherwise intelligent people would fall for something so blatantly stupid as what Blackwell offered to the fine folks in and around Colleyville, Texas. As a business ethics and fraud prevention speaker and author, I know first hand about what goes on behind the scenes when such a fraud occurs and how folks fall prey to victimization by perpetrators like Blackwell.

Christopher Blackwell, 32, of Colleyville, Texas, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of wire fraud in relation to an investment fraud scheme he has operated since January 2007. Blackwell was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, earlier this month. Blackwell remains in custody. A date has not yet been set for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth.

According to the indictment, Blackwell allegedly deceived investors by falsely telling them that he would invest their money in business ventures that would generate a high rate of return, and by fraudulently assuring them that the investments would involve little to no risk. He told investors that their money would be invested in specific business ventures, but when he received investors’ money, he didn’t invest it and instead used most of it for his own personal benefit. On occasion, he would use some of the funds from new investors to make small payments to earlier investors to convince them that their money was generating a profit. However, not all investors received payments from Blackwell and many lost all of the money they invested.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, more than 20 victims, suffering more than $4 million in losses as a result of Blackwell’s scheme, have been identified. One investor, identified only by initials, lost all of the $325,000 he gave Blackwell to invest. In fact, after this investor wired the money as directed to Blackwell’s accounts, agents obtained Blackwell’s bank records and were able to determine that Blackwell didn’t invest the money as promised, but instead used it for personal expenditures including automatic teller machine withdrawals, dining and entertainment, luxury vehicle expenses and payments to family and business associates.

In February 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Christopher Love Blackwell, AV Bar Reg, Inc. and Millers A Game, LLC, two entities he controls, claiming that Blackwell enticed investors by telling them that his trading program would generate highly impressive, guaranteed returns of 25 to 30 percent per month with regularity. He falsely claimed these profits were possible because of his academic pedigree, including Master’s and Ph.D. degrees acquired at a prestigious university in Spain (Blackwell holds no such degrees); his extensive experience as a trader (he has little, if any, such experience); and the know-how and connections he acquired while employed by Goldman Sachs and The Bank of Madrid (he never worked at either firm). In March 2011, the SEC and Blackwell and his entities entered into an agreed judgment.

25 to 30 percent per month with regularity? Really, in this economy people would believe that? Whatever happened to due diligence?

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, each of the wire fraud counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Restitution could be ordered.

If you were a victim of this Ponzi Scheme…perhaps you’d comment on the lure Blackwell used to secure your investment.

Lorn Leitman, attorney and CPA, of Miami, Florida, to 210 months’ incarceration for his role in a 10-year Ponzi scheme. In an unusual decision, the court departed upward from a sentencing guideline range of 121-151 months, commenting, “this case is exceptional.”

A federal grand jury charged the defendant with violating the mail fraud statute for defrauding elderly victims and retirees, among others, through the operation of a Ponzi scheme which sought investments in either phantom residential mortgages or a separate venture burdening U.S. military personnel with predatory and usurious loans. The defendant pled guilty to one count of mail fraud on April 6, 2011 and faced a maximum possible sentence of imprisonment for 20 years. Several victims appeared in court to address the impact of the fraud. As one victim explained, losses from the Ponzi scheme forced the end of his retirement and his return to work. He commented, “my dreams are dead.”

The court explained that the decision to sentence above the guidelines resulted from the defendant’s conduct preying upon his closest friends, fellow servicemen, the elderly and retirees, and noted that the defendant breached codes of conduct applicable to members of the Florida Bar and certified public accountants. In addition to the enhanced sentence, the court ordered the defendant to pay $3,308,435.03 in restitution to victims.

OBSERVATION:

From personal and past experience in dealing with fraud and now fraud prevention, the most likely target of those scammed are folks who are close to the perpetrator. Reality is, in this case, the time in prison will leave Leitman a changed man and the chance of seeing any restitution is slim.

If you were a victim of this crime, please take a moment and share how you were lured into Leitman’s trap. Your comments may help others recognize and avoid a similar fate.

At times, as I’ve followed the Dan Frishberg scam saga, I’ve been mystified by how a company like Salem Communications could keep Dan on the air spewing his nonsense all the while knowing that he’s been busted by the SEC for wrongdoing. Perhaps I’m wrong, but it appears that someone at Salem has finally come to their senses and removed Dan from his lofty broadcast position.

Seems Houston station 1110 KETK was (for all practical purposes) the home base for BizRadio – Dan Frishberg’s company that effectively defrauded millions – most of which won’t be recouped. The station was up for sale and as of this writing I do not have confirmation of whether that has taken place yet. But what is clear is that Dan Frishberg is no longer listed in the stations program line up. The program line up link is listed here: http://www.business1110ktek.com/ and note…Dan Frishberg “The Money Man” is no where to be seen.

Has Salem come to their senses? Perhaps they now see that Dan Frishberg is a liability. There is little doubt, especially in Houston, that Dan Frishberg’s actions which cost investors millions was nothing more than a glorified Ponzi scheme.

Months ago…many it seems, I also reported that Salem Communications had expanded Dan Frishberg’s coverage beyond Houston to Miami’s WZAB 880 AM and Atlanta’s WAFS 1190 AM – as I look at those web sites today I get mixed messages.

When it comes to WZAB 880 AM in Miami – is has been reported that Dan Frishberg was preparing to move to Miami as it was a bit too hot in Houston for him to continue his financial connections. Perhaps he felt the pickins were better in Miami. Either way, WZAB still shows Dan Frishberg in the program line up. Here’s the link: http://www.880thebiz.com/schedule/

Kinda interesting – here’s what it says about Dan Frishberg on the WZAB site: “Dan Frishberg grew up in New York and has spent over 40 years studying money and the markets; especially the people who make up those markets. His life’s work has been to strip away all the jargon and finance babble. He talks about money in a unique language: plain English. Frequently appearing as a guest expert on CNBC television, Dan brings unique insights and a down-to-earth approach to investing.”

Perhaps it should say –

Dan Frishberg grew up in New York and has spent over 40 years studying money and the markets; especially the people who make up those markets. His life’s work has been to strip away all the jargon and finance babble, as well as people’s money as he has been charged by the SEC with investor fraud where Texas residents lost millions. He talks about money in a unique language: plain English, and sometimes that talk is so slick that it is quite persuasive even though Dan’s intent may not be for the consumers good. Frequently appearing as a guest expert on CNBC television, Dan brings unique insights and a down-to-earth approach to investing, which he is now banned from by the SEC. We are proud to feature on our station a person who no longer has the right to offer investment advice, but has a clear way of communicating financial psycho babble so that investors can have no idea what’s really happening to their money.

Seems that the above is a bit more honest and transparent…but who am I to say…?

OOPS PROGRAM NOTE:

According to “The Money Man” website the following has been posted:

The MoneyMan Report Contract with KTEK Houston has ended. The station is currently in the process of being acquired by new owners. We expect the show to be back on the air in Houston in a few weeks.

In the meantime, Texas listeners can catch Dan on the live stream at 7am Central time each morning, by clicking on this link. Or simply click the “Listen Live” tab and tune into 880 The Biz, Miami.

Perhaps there is more to the story…stay tuned and let’s see what shakes out. Maybe Salem isn’t that smart…maybe they really don’t care who broadcasts on their stations – even a person who’s been banned from investment advice by the SEC – Dan you really are “The MoneyMan”.

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